Free Republic

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg doesn’t just want to limit the use of cigarettes – but electronic cigarettes as well. In a newly leaked draft of three tobacco-related bills soon to be voted on by the NYC City Council, the new definition of “tobacco products” under city law would be changed to include e-cigarettes and related components, parts and accessories. If the ordinances pass, the display of e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco would be banned in retail stores. Also, while tobacco and menthol flavored e-cigarettes would still be available in retail stores, all other flavored e-cigarettes could only be sold...

(CNSNews.com) – As part of his ongoing campaign to transform New York City into what he calls “Fit City,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg is promoting “active design” for low-income housing developments being built there, including plans to prompt residents to use the stairs and rooftop gardens for growing “healthy” foods. In 2010, the Bloomberg Administration and other public and private sector groups issued the “Active Design Guidelines,” which promotes car-free neighborhoods, encourages “physical movement” inside buildings and “improves access to nutritious food.”The Center for Action Design was launched next as a resource for architects and developers who sign on to the...

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he would consider backing the two legislators in a showdown that the Times described as "a test of whether politicians, largely Democrats, outside big cities and deep-blue coastal states can survive the political fallout of supporting stricter gun laws." By dint of his dedication to the issue and deep pockets, Bloomberg has used his Mayors Against Illegal Guns to make himself the modern-day face of the gun control movement. After reading this morning's newspaper about two like-minded legislators under duress, Bloomberg wrote himself a note to "check" if Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the organization he co-founded...

Two Democratic Colorado state senators who are facing recall elections on Sept. 10 got The New York Times’ endorsement Friday. The Gray Lady came out with an editorial calling the ballot-box showdown an important “barometer of whether the public, which repeatedly registers support for tougher gun controls in surveys, will show up at the ballot to defend politicians who bucked the gun lobby.” The editorial plainly characterized the recalls of Senate President John Morse and Sen. Angela Giron as a fight between common-sense politicians and “the reckless agenda” of the National Rifle Association, which it said Colorado has traditionally embraced....

Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott is among a growing number of city leaders across the nation pulling out of a group call Mayors Against Illegal Guns. The group, spearheaded by New York City Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, has been an active advocate for gun control measures. Scott, who joined the group after taking office last year, said he unsubscribed because their political views have exceeded his. ... “They’re not just against illegal guns, they’re against all guns.” Both Buzzfeed and the New York Post have reported that Mayors Against Illegal Guns has lost nearly 50 members since...

A pro-gun control group of mayors started by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has scheduled an event in Fargo on Monday, but Bloomberg himself is not expected to attend. Neither is Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker, who said he’s gotten nothing but flak from the tri-state area since announcing his membership in Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns group years ago. “I’ve never resigned, but I’m not an active member either. So I don’t plan on attending,” Walaker said, adding that he hadn’t heard of the event until he was contacted by a reporter. Walaker is the only North Dakota mayor...

Nashua Mayor Donalee Lozeau quit New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun group Mayors Against Illegal Guns after it exposed its true mission: to pursue strict new gun-control laws. She has had plenty of company. A review of the group’s membership by news and entertainment website Buzzfeed.com found that it has lost more than 50 members who have quit, lost re-election or had their terms expire. Lozeau quit after she saw the group’s first ad attacking U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte for voting against a gun-control bill. “I said, ‘Wait a minute, I don’t want to be part of something like...

Nanny plutocrat extraordinaire, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has targeted yet another new windmill for his quixotic conquest besides the scourges of big bad sodas, trans-fats, salt, and elevators. Now he’s going after the Stand Your Ground or No Retreat laws to have them overturned. Hizzonor disparagingly refers to such laws as “Shoot First Laws.” From Bloomberg’s perspective such laws, “…can inspire dangerous vigilantism and protect those who act recklessly with guns,” adding that they, “…encourage deadly confrontations by enabling people to shoot first and argue ‘justifiable homicide’ later.” Got that? Apparently, the Mayor of New York City believes that the bad...

"Sadly, all the facts in this tragic case will probably never be known," Bloomberg said in a prepared statement Sunday. "But one fact has long been crystal clear: 'shoot first' laws like those in Florida can inspire dangerous vigilantism and protect those who act recklessly with guns." He blamed "gun lobby extremists in Washington" for drafting the laws and said the legislation lets armed citizens think it's OK to shoot first and later defend themselves on the grounds that it was a justifiable homicide." Bloomberg touted his work with other civic leaders on the issue and said they are seeking...

Everybody talks about education -- the politicians loudest of all, until they get bored with the subject -- but the education, and the miseducation, of our children continues as the concern dearest to the hearts of parents. Everyone, Republican and Democrat, liberal and conservative, male and female, agree that "somebody has to do something." The argument, angry and contentious, is about the who and the what. Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City who has solutions to problems we don't yet have, arrived fresh from his first election three terms ago with the announcement that he wanted to be...

It could spark terrorism! Mayor Bloomberg will urge Gov. Cuomo to veto legislation that would legalize the sale of sparklers outside New York City, arguing that terrorists could resort to using even kiddie fireworks to ignite a bomb. And that’s a risk not worth taking, City Hall officials said. The mayor opposes the measure, which the Legislature passed last week, even though it wouldn’t apply to the five boroughs, where a ban on sparklers — and all other fireworks — would remain in effect. The bill would allow the sale of sparklers and other small “novelty” fireworks only in counties...

A preliminary analysis of the list of shooting “victims” New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s group Mayors Against Illegal Guns is reading at rallies for new gun control laws finds that one in 12 are crime suspects killed by police or armed citizens acting in self-defense.   The review of 617 killings found that 50 were suspects in crimes ranging from assault to murder, not the type of violence Bloomberg’s group suggests in its “No More Names” campaign to draw attention to the estimated 6,000 gun death “tragedies” since the mid-December Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newton, Conn.   The...

It comes as no surprise that controversy would ride the coattails of the news yesterday that Attorney General Eric Holder may suggest a federal monitor over the NYPD should stop-and-frisk be deemed unconstitutional in Floyd v. New York. Bloomberg and NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly freaked out in a teleconference with Holder the other day when they heard about the Justice Department's proposal. And yesterday, at an unrelated press conference, the m ayor made his opposition to the proposal absolutely, 100 percent clear. Contrary to an inspector general--a City Council proposal in the Community Safety Act currently making its way through...

We all know that every day, people in Mexico come across the border in pursuit of something they can't find in their country. What you may not know is that every day, people in the United States go across the border to Mexico for the same reason. They aren't looking for jobs. They're looking for birth control pills. Why would that be? After all, Americans can get the pill without leaving their country. The reason is that in Mexico, they don't need a prescription. They don't have to see a doctor and present a scrip to a pharmacist. They can...

The New York Times is pleased with Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 438-page, $20 billion plan to protect New York from the effects of future hurricanes. It notes benignly that the cost is probably an underestimate but agrees with the mayor, "Whether you believe climate change is real or not is beside the point; the bottom line is we can't run the risk." Really? Imagine the argument: "Whether you believe zombies are real or not is beside the point. ... We can't run the risk." Clearly one's willingness to undertake these sorts of preparations depends completely on whether the perceived danger is...

Mayor Michael Bloomberg–who previously suggested so-so students skip college to become plumbers–dished out some more advice to young people Friday morning during his weekly radio show. Mr. Bloomberg, whose own syntax has sometimes been the butt of jokes, warned kids to pay attention to their grammar lessons or risk losing opportunities later in life. “Kids have to learn to speak grammar,” said the mayor, in response to a caller who suggested kids weren’t being taught the subject in schools. “If you don’t speak good grammar–English with good grammar–you’re not gonna get the kind of jobs that you want,” said the...

Michael Bloomberg and his battle against bulging waistlines are targeting new villains: sweet tea, energy drinks and fruit juices. New York City’s health department launched a series of TV and bus ads on Monday that warn people about the high sugar content in drinks that are seemingly healthy. The ads cost about $1.4 million and are part of a “pouring on the pounds” campaign that dates back to 2009, The Daily Mail reports. One of the television ads shows a young boy happily slurping on a juice box. The scene takes a dramatic turn when it flashes to what appears...

Senate President John Morse isn’t hiding his budding bromance with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg anymore ... Morse openly declares his fervent hope that Bloomberg rides to the rescue with some more cold hard cash for his recall defense campaign. He’ll need it after recall organizers turned in over 16,000 signatures, compared to the only 13,866 votes Morse received in his last election in 2010. Any Bloomberg bucks would be in addition to the at least $20,000 Morse’s recall defense campaign has already taken from Bloomberg-backed America Votes.

In 35 years as Manhattan DA, Robert Morgenthau has gotten along with every mayor of New York -- except the current one. Mike Bloomberg, says Morgenthau, "doesn't want anybody around who doesn't kiss his ring, or other parts of his body." In a wide-ranging interview with the Wall Street Journal, the 90-year-old, who leaves office Thursday, addresses everything from his feud with the mayor to the international crimefighting role his office has played during his tenure. As usual, he pulls no punches: On enforcing economic sanctions against Iran and its business partners: "The president is smoking pot or something if...

NJNR: What are your thoughts on the Minnesota Independence party backing Mayor Bloomberg for president in 2012? JV: He's a bright man. He's done an outstanding job here in N.Y. to the best of my knowledge. I mean New Yorkers would know better than me. Whenever I come here it seems he's done a great job with the city. If he runs as a true independent he gets my full support because I don't vote for Democrats or Republicans. I refuse to vote for them and I encourage everyone else in this country to do the same. The problem with...